Who We Are
Strategic Structuring, Not Transactional Broking
Mortgage & Finance Advisory is a strategic lending firm specialising in asset protection, entity structuring and tax-efficient finance for individuals, business owners and investors across Australia.
The firm operates on an advisory model — working collaboratively with your accountant, lawyer and financial planner to ensure every lending decision fits within your broader wealth protection strategy.
We don't just find you a loan. We help you structure it correctly — ensuring the right entity holds the right asset, with the right security arrangements, to protect what you've worked so hard to build.
Getting finance is easy. Getting it structured correctly — in a way that protects your assets and optimises your position — that's where most borrowers get it wrong.
I saw too many clients get approved quickly — only to realise years later that the structure was wrong. The wrong entity, the wrong security, the wrong tax treatment. By then, unwinding it was expensive and complicated.
— Melanie McNaughton, Founder
Our Story
Built to Get Structure Right
Mortgage & Finance Advisory was founded in response to a systemic gap in the finance industry — the absence of proper structural thinking.
After more than a decade structuring complex deals for Westpac, ANZ and NAB, founder Melanie McNaughton observed a consistent pattern: loans were being approved, but rarely structured correctly for asset protection or tax efficiency.
MFA was established to operate differently — collaborating with your existing advisors to ensure lending decisions support (not undermine) your broader wealth strategy.
Your Advisory Team
Working With Your Advisors
We believe the best outcomes come from collaboration. That's why we work directly with your accountant, lawyer and financial planner to ensure your lending structure aligns with your overall wealth strategy.
Your Accountant
We coordinate with your accountant on entity selection, tax implications of security arrangements, and ensuring loan structures support your overall tax planning strategy.
Your Lawyer
We liaise with your solicitor on asset protection structures, trust deed requirements, guarantee arrangements, and ensuring security positions don't expose protected assets.
Your Financial Planner
We align lending structures with your wealth accumulation strategy, ensuring borrowing capacity is preserved for future opportunities and retirement planning goals are supported.
How We Collaborate
Initial Strategy Session
We understand your goals, existing structures, and identify your advisory team
Advisor Consultation
We connect with your accountant and lawyer to understand structural requirements
Structure Design
We design a lending structure that meets everyone's requirements
Coordinated Execution
We work with all parties to implement the structure correctly
Our Foundation
Three Pillars of Protection
Asset Protection First
Every lending decision is evaluated through the lens of asset protection — ensuring the right entity holds the right asset, with appropriate security arrangements that don't expose protected wealth.
Tax-Efficient Structuring
Working with your accountant to ensure loan purposes, entity selection, and interest deductibility are optimised — avoiding costly restructures down the track.
Collaborative Approach
We don't operate in isolation. We work as part of your advisory team — liaising directly with your accountant, lawyer and financial planner to get the structure right.
Our Mission
To deliver intelligent, strategy-led lending that protects your assets, optimises your tax position, and works seamlessly with your existing advisors — building long-term wealth outcomes, not just approvals.
What Drives Us
Our Values
Protection Mindset
We think like your lawyer and accountant — always considering how lending decisions impact your asset protection and risk exposure.
Team Collaboration
The best outcomes come when advisors work together. We actively engage with your professional team to ensure aligned recommendations.
Technical Excellence
Deep understanding of trust structures, company lending, security arrangements, and cross-collateralisation implications that most brokers overlook.
Leadership
Meet Your Strategist
Melanie McNaughton
Director & Principal Lending Strategist
With over 12 years of experience across Westpac, ANZ and NAB, Melanie brings institutional expertise in complex structuring and asset protection. A Qualified Accountant and former Deloitte Auditor, she understands the critical intersection of finance, tax and legal structures.